Teenage Dreams
by Page1229
Summary: AU Everyone is a normal human, all the teenagers go to the same school. Kurama is just Shuichi, Kuwabara is the new kid, Botan is the adopted daughter of Mayor Koenma, and Hiei and Yukina live separately from each other because of their parents's divorce. Rated T but there is strong language.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own YYH or its characters. I don't even own the title, I got lazy and used Katy Perry's song title Teenage Dream. Don't know why.

Author's Note: I made this story during Thanksgiving Break because I was bored and did not have internet.

Chapter 1

"Hey Hiei, what's up with the headband?" A black haired boy clad in green asked a short boy in black with black spiky hair. "You going into an '80's phase?" The boy in green was indicating a white piece of clothe wrapped around the short boy's forehead just below his hairline.

"Hn, shut up and had me one of those," the short boy ordered, pointing at the cigarette his friend was holding. The green boy brought out a pack from his pocket and tapped it so one popped up. The short boy grabbed the cigarette and produced a zippo lighter from his jacket.

The boy in green was Yusuke Urameshi, a punk who grew up on the streets with only his mother as his provider which she earned on her back. The short boy was Hiei Jaganshi, a child of divorce who lived with his alcoholic father and only cared about his twin sister. The two boys had met in school but did not become friends right away. In fact, their first real face-to-face encounter was a fight they had behind the school building because Yusuke had been hurling insults at Hiei, who he thought would never throw a punch his way. However, the two boys were five minutes into the fight when a teacher stopped and dragged them to spend five days in detention where the two began to bond. After that the two were inseparable.

Hiei put the cancer stick between his lips and lit it. He breathed in deep as the smoke seemed to calm and comfort him, making him forget the scar on his forehead. He heard the school bell ring but did not move, he kept his eyes closed as he felt the wind on the rooftop brush through his hair. Yusuke remained in his crouched position next to the door that led to the stairwell.

"So how's your sister?"

"None of your damned business." Hiei still had his eyes closed but his brows furrowed in annoyance.

"I was just asking. She's not as cold-hearted as her older brother, the divorce has the have done something to her."

"Yukina will be fine as long as that bastard stays away from her."

"So your dad's still having issues?"

"Issues is not what I would call a pathetic piece of shit that beats his wife and children."

"Then why stay with him?"

"To make sure he goes no where near Yukina. Now shut up, I'm trying to relax." Hiei's hands were shaking as he took the cigarette from his mouth and blew out smoke.

They sat in silence for a bit before they heard steps coming up the stairwell. The door opened and two girls in blue uniforms joined them. The girl in front had short brown hair and brown eyes. Her arms were crossed over her chest and she wore a stern expression on her face. The second girl stood behind her a bit more timidly. She had long light blue hair that she kept in a ponytail and purple eyes.

"Oh look, the bitchy brigade," Yusuke sighed. He crushed his spent cigarette against the concrete and stood, putting his hands in his pockets. "What do you want?" Hiei ignored the newcomers and continued to inhale the nicotine.

The brown haired girl stepped up to Yusuke. "You two are supposed to be in class; the bell rang five minutes ago."

Yusuke snorted and asked, "Then why aren't the two of you there?"

The first girl answered, "Because the teacher told us to look for you two. A new student is joining us and we need to make a good first impression."

This time Hiei snorted, tossing his cigarette on the ground and stomping on it. "A bit counterproductive to have us there then."

"No one expects you to do anything, Hiei," the blue haired girl replied. "Just be there to make the new student feel welcomed." The boy rolled his crimson eyes.

"Relax Keiko," Yusuke ordered. "If it'll get you guys off our backs, we'll go."

Keiko uncrossed her arms and exhaled with her eyes closed. Her face smoothed out. "Thank you, now come on."

Hiei saw a spark in Yusuke's eye that he recognized as one that would cause his friend a great amount of pain. Reaching toward Keiko's now unguarded chest, Yusuke grabbed her right breast.

"Yeah, these would leave a guy with a great first impression. Wouldn't you say Hiei?"

Hiei did not answer because he knew what would come next. Keiko's face turned red and she began to growl. She raised her hand up high, palm flat like she was about to give hand signals. With a strength unimaginable for a girl as small as Keiko, she threw her hand and slapped Yusuke across the face. The boy smacked onto the concrete with a red handprint on his cheek and his eyes watering.

"Come on Botan," Keiko said to the blue haired girl who stood with her hands covering her "O" shaped mouth. "We'll just have to explain to Mr. Takanaka that they couldn't be bothered to show up." Keiko disappeared through the door with Botan in tow.

Yusuke groaned in pain while Hiei stared at his perverted friend. The shorter boy then turned to the door and said, "Come to class whenever you regain your senses. Wait, that might take too long. Just come whenever you can stand." And with that, Hiei left the rooftop to go to class.


	2. Chapters 2-4

Note: I put three chapters together because they all ended up being really short.

Chapter 2

Yusuke opened the door to the classroom.

"Ah Mr. Urameshi, you've finally decided to join us," the teacher announced. There was a tall boy with orange hair standing next to him. "Hurry and take your seat. Now that everyone is here, let me introduce our new student: Kazuma Kuwabara. Sit in any of the empty seats. Class, please open your textbooks to page..."

Yusuke tuned him out as he sat next to Hiei in the back. Hiei was whispering to Shuichi Minamino, an honor student with long red hair and delicate features that made Yusuke think he was a girl when they first met. For some reason, Hiei had an instant connection with Shuichi which led to rumors that the two were a couple.

"Come on, you gotta show me," Hiei silently begged. "I couldn't do it last night because of my dad."

Shuichi sighed. "You said that last time. Do you even take your textbooks home?"

Hiei remained silent.

"No Hiei, you have to do your own work."

The small boy huffed and leaned back in his chair; a homework assignment was due and Hiei was failing. It was not that Hiei was stupid, he was actually very intelligent but he thought school was a complete waste of time.

"Was your old man wasted again last night?" Yusuke asked.

Hiei remained silent, staring at the ceiling. Just then, the teacher stopped talking as a hand was raised.

"Yeah, I don't get it," the new student asked. His voice was loud and obnoxious, in Hiei's opinion. "Isn't an allusion a trick that magicians do?" The class erupted in laughter and the boy's face turned red but he did not look away from the teacher.

"No Mr. Kuwabara, that is an illusion. An allusion is a reference."

"Idiot." Hiei did not bother to lower his voice. Kuwabara turned and glared at him but Hiei continued to look at the ceiling.

"Mr. Jaganshi, insults are not tolerated in my class. I expect you and Urameshi to stay after school in detention."

"Why me?" Yusuke asked in disbelief.

"For being late and smelling like nicotine. Smoking on school grounds is prohibited." He then returned to the lesson.

Chapter 3

Kuwabara was having a hard time looking for his next class: algebra. He roamed the halls, looking at a slip of paper with his schedule that seemed to place him at a room that did not seem to exist. He stopped in the hall to try and get his bearings. With his sudden stop, he felt someone bump into his back. Kuwabara stumbled but managed to stay on his feet, but the person behind him hit the floor and he heard a small voice.

"Ow." Kuwabara turned and saw a small girl with braided teal hair on the ground with papers scattered around the hall.

"Oh I'm sorry," Kuwabara said as he crouched by the girl. "I didn't know someone was behind me. I'm new and I'm just trying to look for my class."

"It's alright, I suppose that was my fault; I wasn't looking where I was going." The girl smiled, her red eyes sparkled. Kuwabara felt his heart beat pick up and his palms started to sweat. The pair started picking up all the papers in the hall. "I could show you where your class is; I've been all over this building because I like to help the teachers."

"Umm," Kuwabara stumbled for words. "I'm looking for room 213."

"Oh, that would get you lost," the girl giggled lightly. "I'll have to show you. That room isn't in order with the rest. I think there might have been a slip up with assigning room numbers." The two began to walk down the hall and, to Kuwabara's dismay, walked down to the first floor.

"I'm Yukina, by the way."

"Umm, Kazuma." Kuwabara was too intimidated by this girl's pretty face to give his whole name.

"Kazuma," Yukina said with a smile. "I like that name." Kuwabara felt his heart leap.

"Yukina is a pretty name."

"Thank you, my mother named me."

They reached room 213 and Yukina turned to leave. "It was nice meeting you, Kazuma. If you need any more help, I'm usually in the front office."

"Thanks. I might get lost again, so see you soon." Kuwabara started waving, too caught up in Yukina's attention to really think about what he was saying or doing. The small girl laughed and waved back before walking away.

Chapter 4

Later that day, Kuwabara was in biology class. He was in need of a lab partner because they were doing a dissection and he had lucked out with partnering up with Shuichi. Hiei, who was Shuichi's partner, was skipping class with Yusuke, who was supposed to be in PE.

"So Kazuma," Shuichi began as he pinned the frog's legs down. "How are you liking our school?"

"You can just call me Kuwabara, everyone else does besides my family." Kuwabara looked over the list of organs they had to identify. "I mean, it isn't a show that I don't like you. I just respond to Kuwabara more than Kazuma."

"All right then, Kuwabara could you please pass me the scalpel?" The orange haired teen did as asked.

"This place is okay, better than my old school where they thought I was an idiot. But I guess my question in my first class didn't really change people's opinion."

"Don't be upset. You had a question that you wanted answered. How you phrased it could have been better but no one thinks you're an idiot." Shuichi started making precise incisions across the amphibian's belly.

"That one guy does. What was his name?"

"Hiei. But I wouldn't take anything he says too personally. He has a tendency to lash out."

"Doesn't matter anyway. I met this one girl who made me feel good."

"Oh? Here one day and already have a crush?" Shuichi pulled back the skin flaps to expose the frog's insides.

"I wouldn't call it a crush; I know what a crush feels like and this is different." Kuwabara turned green when Shuichi began extracting organs. "Oh man, this is gross."

"Try to focus on something else. If you don't mind my asking, why did you leave your old school?"

"My sister hated how the teachers were treating us. She said growing minds don't flourish under a pile of crap. So as soon as she could, Shizuru convinced Dad to enroll me in a different school."

"Your sister sounds like she cares a lot about your education." The boy moved without hesitating, removing the assigned organs and talking at the same time.

"You're really good at this. Are you planning to become a doctor?"

"Maybe."

They sat in silence while Shuichi continued removing organs. Finally, "Do you mind if I ask you something?"

"Of course not, what is it?"

The teacher chimed in. "Scalpels down, time to check your work."

"Is it true what they say about you?"

"What about me?" Shuichi placed their tools off to the side.

"You know, that you're gay."

"What?!" Shuichi stumbled a bit, knocking their tools on the floor with a clatter.

Kuwabara threw his hands up. "Other people said it, not me."


	3. Chapters 5 and 6

Chapter 5

The first week passed and Kuwabara was feeling great about his new school. He visited Yukina in the front office everyday and he had begun to hang out with Shuichi. Hiei still called him an idiot and various other names whenever they ran into each other, which was not often, but Kuwabara began to respond with his own: shrimp and runt were top of the list. Yusuke seemed to skip school altogether, leaving Hiei alone most of the time. Normally this meant nothing, until one day when Kuwabara tried to visit Yukina.

Kuwabara walked into the front office with a big grin on his face. "Good morning Yukina."

"Good morning Kazuma," the girl replied.

"I brought a big lunch today so we could share, just the two of us."

"That's very kind of you, but unfortunately I can't. I'm having lunch with Hiei."

Kuwabara's jaw dropped. He then noticed the short boy sitting in a chair next to his sister's. No one had told Kuwabara of the relation.

"Why would you want to eat with this freak?"

"Kazuma! Don't say those things about Hiei!" Yukina's face appeared shocked and gradually transformed into mild anger.

"So I guess that means you two are dating?" Kuwabara hung his head morosely.

Before Yukina could respond, Hiei shouted. "You really are a dumbass aren't you?!"

"Hiei!" Yukina turned to her brother. Before she could go on, the office phone rang and she had to answer, holding up her index finger to signal the boys to be quiet. While she talked, Kuwabara left the office with a rain cloud hanging over his head.

Chapter 6

"I don't care if you don't want to go Yusuke, but you've missed too many days," Keiko lectured as she dragged the boy down the street one morning by his ear. "You're already far behind and any more absences and the truant officer is going to visit and I'm sure your mother would appreciate that after working all night."

"I don't see why this is your problem Keiko," he responded. "Besides, my mom is hammered most of the time. I don't think she'll notice a visit to the house as being at the wrong time of day."

"I'm doing this because somebody has to care about you." Her voice was almost a whisper. Yusuke stopped walking and Keiko stopped with him, his ear still in her fist.

"Keiko?"

She did not say anything but released his ear so he could stand straight. Rubbing his ear he said, "So I'm just some charity case to you?"

The brunette looked at him and Yusuke saw tears come to her eyes. "That's not it at all. Yusuke, I've always cared about you since we were little. Remember the day I pushed you into the river and you ended up getting sick? I felt so bad after that. I don't want you to become something you're not. You act tough all the time, but the Yusuke I know is a lot more than that. You're not just some delinquent." A few tears slid down her cheeks.

Yusuke reached over and wiped her tears away. "Alright, I'll go to school. Just don't cry, I hate it when you cry."

Keiko brightened. "Good, let's go." She began walking down the sidewalk with a smile and a slight skip.

Yusuke was dumbfounded. "Did she just play me?"


	4. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Botan was sitting in the library after school. She was struggling with her homework and decided that surely she could get the answers she needed in the one place where all knowledge was supposedly kept. She leaned back in her chair while balancing her pencil over her lip. This was not going well.

The school library was not very big but Botan was sure it would have the information she needed for her report. But the blue haired girl had yet to open a single book. Her paper was completely covered in doodles of cats, flowers and spirals.

"Oh, Koenma is going to kill me." Botan was referring to her foster father. He had gotten onto her several times for bad grades already, one more and she would be grounded for the rest of the year.

A light bulb went off in Botan's head: use the internet. She moved over to the computers and went into a search engine. She typed in her subject and several things popped up. When she was about to click on a link, a pop up got in the way and sent her to a porn site. The girl's face turned blood red as she tried to close out, some how opening more sites.

With the computer still running and showing risqué images, Botan bolted from the library and down the hall wanting to get as far away from the scene as possible. She was not looking where she was going when she turned a corner and bumped into someone. They fell into a heap with their lips touching. Botan was already blushing severely, but once she saw who was underneath her she felt like her face was going to explode. Hiei pushed her off him, glaring at her with his blood red eyes.

"I'm so sorry Hiei, I didn't see you."

"What the hell were you running from that made you not look where you were going?" he growled.

"Well, I was in the library and..." She went into her tale about the naughty computer. Hiei went from enraged to slightly amused.

"I guess that means you found Yusuke's computer. He had some nerds hack into one of the library computers so that it displayed nothing but porn. I don't think any one has complained yet, but do you honestly see girls go into the library often?"

"Keiko does."

"Yeah, but she's a bookworm."

"Wait, does that mean boys like Shuichi..." Botan could not bring herself to finish her question.

"What he does on the internet is his business, but I seriously doubt it."

"Have you ever..."

This time, Hiei's face turned red. "What kind of question is that?"

Botan giggled. "That wasn't a no." If looks could kill. Then, "Hiei, what are you doing here so late?"

"Detention."

Botan waited in vain for him to say more. When they went into an awkward silence, Botan looked at her watch. "Oh no, it's almost eight. I hate walking in the dark, especially alone."

"Well, good luck with that." Hiei turned to leave but felt fingers wrap around his wrist.

"Hiei, please walk me home. I'm afraid of the dark."

"Why should I care?"

"Well I would think you would be nice to the girl you just kissed," she teased. The boy rolled his eyes. "It's dangerous to be a girl on the street at night, don't you want to help?"

Hiei threw her hand off his wrist. "Listen: I am not some hero or knight in shining armor you read about in your fairytales; I am not the bad boy who dates the prom queen; and I am not walking you home. You are nothing but a spoiled rich girl who was adopted by the mayor and knows nothing about how much life really sucks. One night on your own would do you some good."

Of course that pretty little speech did not matter in the end since, after Botan had worked in some tears, the two classmates were walking down the street together. They arrived at her house without incident.

"Happy now?" Hiei asked in a sour tone.

Botan nodded. "Thank you, Hiei." She pecked him on the cheek before he could react and went inside.

Hiei stood in the dark with an annoyed expression.

Note: I do not ship HieixBotan but this idea came to mind and I just had to type it.


	5. Chapters 8-10

Chapter 8

"Yukina, what's wrong?" her mother asked, stroking the girl's hair. Her mother, Hina, looked like an older version of her daughter.

"It's this one boy at school," Yukina began. She and her mother were sitting together on the couch watching television. "I thought he was nice, but then he called Hiei a freak."

"Maybe you misheard him."

"Kazuma was standing right in front of me when he said it."

"What you have to understand is that not all people think your brother is nice, Yukina. I'm not saying what Kazuma said was okay but you should look at the situation through his eyes. Hiei doesn't have many friends and there is more than likely a reason."

The phone rang in the kitchen and Hina left the couch to answer. Yukina heard her mother adopt a stern tone that indicated who she was talking to: Yukina's father. By the look on her mother's face, her dad was probably drunk again.

"These calls are getting pathetic... You know why... It's bad enough you have Hiei... I've seen the bruises, don't think I won't take you to court again... Put him on the phone... If he isn't there... Where are you?... No, I'm not picking you up. I'm going to get our son so he has somewhere to stay... Good bye."

Hina walked into the living room, her eyes filled with worry. "I'm going to pick your brother up, I shouldn't take long. Love you." She grabbed her keys and walked out the door. Yukina had a bad feeling.

Chapter 9

Hiei sat in the dark apartment where he and his father lived. The electricity was out so Hiei had no way to feed or entertain himself. He heard a car pull in and looked out, recognizing his mom's white minivan. But he also saw his dad pull in with his black junker. As Hina exited her car, his dad left his and walked up to his mom. Hiei heard them shouting and decided to leave the apartment, not even bothering to close the door.

"This is not the way to raise a child!" his mother shouted. "You need to be there to even be thought to be considered a competent guardian!"

"How I raise him is my business!" his father shouted back. "You didn't want him so now I have to look after him!"

"I never said anything like that! You begged for custody and I thought you were capable of looking after your own son! Apparently I was wrong!"

"I wanted Yukina!"

"What kind of man are you?! How could you even consider dividing our children like that?! I wanted both but with you begging and Hiei saying he wanted to stay with you! You disgust me! I saw the bruises you put on him and that scar he has on his forehead! He said you threw a bottle at him!"

"That son of a bitch is nothing but a liar! I never did anything to him!"

"Do you even listen to yourself?! How do you think this divorce happened in the first place?!" Hina saw Hiei walking up to them. "Hiei get in the car, we're leaving."

"No! He's mine!"

"Oh now he's yours? What happened to all that crap you used to accuse me of?"

"I'm not leaving," Hiei said calmly.

His mother turned to him with a shocked expression. "What?"

"You heard him: he's not leaving."

"Hiei?" Hina's face became pained. "Why?"

"Because he loves his dear old man."

Hiei ignored his father. "Can I talk to you alone?"

Hina nodded and indicated her car. Hiei got in the passenger's side while Hina got behind the wheel. She locked the doors when her ex-husband started yelling at Hiei to get out of the car. "What is it Hiei?"

Hiei looked out the windshield. "I don't give a fuck about that piece of shit you used to call a husband, but I care about you and Yukina. I remember when he used to come home late and we would hear you crying and begging for him to stop hurting you and the next morning you would have fresh bruises on your face and arms. And I remember that one time he hit Yukina with a belt across her back. I live with this fucker because of moments like that; I don't want them to continue. He talks all the time about going to your house and murdering you both. He usually blacks out after that but I keep thinking one day he won't and he will try to kill you. I can handle getting hurt, but I can't handle if you two got hurt or worse."

By the end of this, Hina had tears falling down her face. "Hiei," she reached over and grabbed his shoulder. "I love you so much and I can't stand it knowing your with your father in such a hostile situation when you could be safe with your sister and me."

Hiei looked at his mother. "I love you too, but this is the only way."

Hina pulled him into an embrace that Hiei felt could not last long enough. After they pulled away, Hiei noticed his father had stopped ranting. He looked around but did not see him passed out anywhere. The boy had a bad feeling.

He heard a loud bang and glass shatter. Instinct kicked in as he shielded his face when the windshield broke into millions of pieces. Hiei looked to his mother and saw a bullet wound in her chest. Her breathing became shallow and her body was cover in small cuts from the broken glass. Hiei looked outside and saw his father holding a pistol. Rage took over as the teen kicked open his car door and running towards the man. Hiei moved fast and tackled his father to the ground, punching the man's face repeatedly. His dad tried several times to buck Hiei off him but his son was griping tight with his legs as he continued to wail on his face.

Hiei heard sirens but punching until he felt the bastard was on the brink of death. He stopped his assault, his knuckles covered in blood and his father just barely breathing under him. Hiei felt someone drag him off his father and he did not fight them. Suddenly, he felt very exhausted.

Chapter 10

Shizuru knocked on her brother's bedroom door, well pounded on it really.

"Come on bro, you can't stay in there and sulk all day." There was no response. "I swear you better be studying or else I'm gonna kick your ass. It took a lot of convincing to get you into your new school so you could get a better education."

"Go away," Kuwabara answered sulkily.

"Let me in Kazuma," she ordered.

"I said go away."

Shizuru got a feeling of deja vu. "Is this about a girl?"

"Leave me alone!" Yup, definitely a girl.

Shizuru sighed and backed away from the door, preparing to charge into it. Before she hit the door, the phone rang causing her to lose focus and smack into the door. It was still firmly in the frame but Shizuru's shoulder felt really bruised.

"Damn," she breathed as she walked over to the phone. "Hello?"

Kuwabara heard his sister talking to someone but could not make out her end of the conversation from his position: face in his pillow, lying on his front on his bed. Shizuru banged on his door again.

"Kazuma, you gotta a call. Some girl named Yukina wants to talk to you." The second she said Yukina's name, Kuwabara opened the door and took the phone.

"Yukina?" he asked into the mouthpiece.

"Oh Kazuma." Yukina sounded like she was crying. "My mother is in the hospital and I didn't know who else to call."

"Calm down, where are you?"

"I'm at home but I need to go."

"Give me your address and my sister and I will come get you."

"Thank you." She then proceeded to give him her address and hung up.

Shizuru stared at her younger brother. "So, now you expect me to drop everything and take you to some girl's house."

"Come on Shizuru, Yukina's in trouble: her mom is in the hospital." Kuwabara knew this would hit Shizuru's barely used sense of compassion.

"Fine, get in the car and tell me where to go."


	6. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Shuichi was sitting in the library with a girl when his cellphone went off. The boy excused himself and went out into the hallway to answer. Yusuke's voice was on the other end.

"Shuichi, you gotta come down to the hospital." His words were rushed and he sounded out of breath. "Hiei and his sister are down here: their mom's in the ER."

"Yusuke slow down and take a deep breath," Shuichi instructed. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"I don't know man, you just gotta see for yourself." The line went dead.

Shuichi sighed, fighting the urge to run out of the building. The girl he was sitting with entered the hall.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, her brown eyes filled with worry.

"I'm afraid I have to cut our tutor session short today Maya. Something has come up and I have to leave."

"Go ahead, I don't mind. I just hope nothing is wrong."

"I'm not sure yet, but I hope so too. I'll see you tomorrow?" Maya nodded. Shuichi was a little frustrated that he had to leave early; he had wanted to ask Maya Kitajima out on a date for a while and tonight was going to be it. But his friends needed him, and Shuichi was never one to abandon his friends.

When Shuichi arrived at the hospital, Yusuke was waiting outside for him. "About time," Yusuke complained. "Hiei is so super pissed right now he won't talk to anyone but Yukina. And Yukina is so broken down she can't say anything." The two boys walked inside. Shuichi was surprised to see Kuwabara sitting next to Yukina in the waiting room. Also in the room was a woman who looked to be in her early twenties, an old woman with grayish pink hair, Botan, and Keiko.

It was exactly as Yusuke had said: Hiei was in the farthest corner of the room away from everybody, glaring a hole into the wall and giving off such a hostile air in general; Yukina was incoherent as she tried to make sense of the situation, but her tears and small hiccups made it even worse.

Shuichi looked at Yusuke. "What are they all doing here?" He indicated the people who were not Jaganshi.

"Yukina called Kuwabara and he and his sister came. The old woman is apparently a neighbor and close friend of Mrs. Jaganshi. Keiko was with me when Hiei called and she practically forced me to let Botan come."

Shuichi felt slightly offended that he was the last person to come. Yusuke seemed to pick up on that and quickly explained. "We tried to get ahold of you earlier, but my phone sucks and Hiei's battery ran dead. He only called me first because I was on speed dial and the only words he said was 'Hospital, now,' then it cut off."

Everyone looked up when the doctor walked in. He looked at Hiei who stood up.

"Your mother is going to be alright. The bullet managed to miss any vitals and though she lost a considerable amount of blood, she will recover." Hiei released a heavy sigh and Yukina got up to hug her brother. "She will have to stay here for a few weeks. In the mean time, I hope you two have somewhere to stay." Hiei nodded and the doctor left.

The old woman stepped forward. "If you need somewhere to stay, I have extra room."

Yukina let Hiei go and looked at the old woman. "Thank you so much Genkai, but we can manage on our own."

"What about your dad?" Kuwabara asked. The room went silent.

"Dad is in jail right now," Yukina explained.

Hiei growled. "Don't ever call that bastard that again, Yukina."

His sister gave him a look of pity, causing him to cast his eyes downward. "That is who he is, brother. No amount of anger and violence can change that. Don't hate him for what he did, pity him for what he has become."

"Hiei," Shuichi chimed in. "You and Yukina can stay with me and mother. I know she would enjoy having both of you."

Hiei shrugged. "We'll see."


	7. Chapters 12 and 13

Chapter 12

There they were, back on the roof. Hiei and Yusuke were smoking like before and disregarded the bell ring.

Yusuke removed his cigarette and exhaled smoke. "So how's your mom? She any better?"

Hiei just nodded, focusing on inhaling and trying to relax his nerves.

Yusuke hesitated but dared to ask, "What's gonna be done about your dad?"

The shorter boy glared at his friend who avoided eye contact. "As soon as Mom gets out of the hospital, we have to go to court. That bastard managed to get an attorney who might get him parole."

"How? He tried to kill your mom!"

"Yes, but he was drunk so his defense is it wasn't premeditated. I have to testify because he's said so many times that he wanted to kill her."

"What happens if you win?"

"He gets ten years to life. If not, then only five years. Either way, we win but I don't want him to have the chance to be free." Hiei ground his cigarette into the cement.

As if on cue, the door to the rooftop opened. Keiko and Botan stepped out, the brunette wearing her usual sour expression.

"What now?" Yusuke groaned.

"Class. Now." Keiko did not even look in the mood for Yusuke's attitude. But of course, he had one. "Man, what are you on your period or something?"

"You pig!" And Yusuke was on the ground with another red mark that seemed to swell up to twice the size of his face.

While this was going on, Botan walked up to Hiei with a concerned expression. "Is everything alright Hiei?" Her purple eyes were wide and she was biting her lip.

"Hn," Hiei grunted. He hated the look she gave him, it made him feel weak. He noted there was slight blush on her cheeks, no doubt still remembering their kiss.

"If you need anything, Hiei, either you or Yukina, you can come to me."

Hiei sighed in frustration. "Fine." He did not mean it, but her pitiful look went away and she smiled.

"Come on you two," Keiko called by the door. She had Yusuke by the collar, looking well prepared to drag him downstairs if she had to. Yusuke's cheek was developing a bruise.

Botan hurried after them with Hiei following at his leisure.

Chapter 13

Months passed and Hina was out of the hospital and the trial was over. Hiei and Yukina's father ended up being sentenced to life because of Hiei's testimony. Summer vacation was approaching and every student was more than ready to finish their classes. The group of friends included Yusuke, Keiko, Botan, Shuichi, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Yukina as they all walked down the hall.

"So what are you guys doing this summer?" Keiko asked brightly. She was in an incredibly good mood because she and Yusuke were finally dating. It took a while but Yusuke finally admitted to having feelings for Keiko when he saw a boy flirting with her just the week before.

"My sister is making me get a job for the summer," Kuwabara moped. "I'll be cleaning grease out of the deep frier at that crummy new fast food joint."

"Yikes, that sucks," Yusuke replied. He did not bother mentioning that he would be a busboy for the entire summer.

"My mother and I are going to vacation in America near the end of June," Shuichi said.

"So you're leaving Maya behind?" Keiko queried.

Shuichi blushed. "I still haven't asked her out."

"Well now's as good a time as any," Yusuke began as they approached the girl in question. "Hey Maya! Shuichi wants to ask you something!" Maya turned around and Shuichi blushed even more, glaring at his friend. Yusuke waved him off. "You can kill me later." And they left Shuichi behind to talk to Maya.

Botan laughed as they walked off. "His face almost matches his hair!" Even Yukina could not help but giggle. Hiei smiled a little at his friend's discomfort, he was in a good mood too since the trial ended so well in their favor. He still remembered his dad making an ass out of himself in court, shouting about how his ex-wife was a traitorous bitch and that Hiei was abusive to everyone. It became hard for him to explain the scar across Hiei's forehead from the thrown bottle. Hiei still wore the bandana but now he was not ashamed to show off his scar because it had helped throw his father in prison.

"I got an idea!" Yusuke shouted, pausing just outside the school gates. "Let's celebrate another school year we survived by getting shit-faced!"

"Yusuke, we can't drink!" Keiko chastised. "We're underage!"

"Doesn't matter, I know a couple of guys that could get us something."

"No,Yusuke," Keiko answered firmly.

"Fine, you don't have to come. Kuwabara? Hiei?" Hiei was nodding with a devilish grin on his face, but Kuwabara was shaking his head. "No way, Shizuru would kill me if I came home drunk."

Yusuke looked to Yukina and Botan. "Ladies, you in?" Before Yukina could answer Hiei spoke, "No, you're going home." His sister did not argue, she had not planned on joining anyway.

Botan, however, was nodding. "Oh, this should be fun." Hiei rolled his eyes.

"Fine," Keiko said. "If Botan's going, then so am I."

"Come on Yukina, I'll walk you home," Kuwabara offered. Yukina smiled and linked her arms with his. Hiei shot a glare at the boy before they left.


	8. Chapter 14

Note: I like to watch UFC so enjoy the fight! More HieixBotan, still don't ship but it makes more sense now that they're both human. Oh, and let's see how many MMA fans there are: try to find some of the illegal moves.

Chapter 14

The next morning, Hiei woke up on Yusuke's couch with his shirt off and plastic wrap on his right arm. He opened his eyes only to squeeze them shut again due to the sunlight coming through the window and the massive pain in his head. He tried to turn onto his left side but found someone snuggled into him. He dared to open one eye and saw blue hair before closing them again.

"Crap," he muttered. Hiei and Yusuke had gotten drunk before but it was just the two of them and Hiei had crashed on Yusuke's couch alone. With Botan and Keiko joining them, he assumed that meant Keiko was asleep with Yusuke. Knowing how prudish she was, Hiei had a bad feeling she would act as the alarm clock for those who were still sleeping.

Sure enough, a minute later a girlish scream came from Yusuke's room and Hiei had to cover his ears. His head was already splitting from the hangover, now it felt like someone was trying to rip it apart with their bare hands.

Keiko woke up next to Yusuke in a less than ladylike manner. Her left leg was draped across his waist and her skirt had risen slightly. Her scream went right into Yusuke's ear, causing the boy to jump and hit the floor.

Botan moaned and covered her ears but her friend had the lungs of an opera singer it seemed. Hiei had no idea how long Keiko screamed before Atsuko, Yusuke's mom, came stomping out of her bedroom and nearly tore down her son's door. "Yusuke, what the hell?!" Hiei gritted his teeth, this was torture.

"I'm so sorry, Atsuko," Keiko apologized, her face red.

"Keiko? What are doing here this early?" Atsuko was still groggy.

"Some of my friends came over last night, Mom," Yusuke explained, still a heap on the floor.

"Oh yeah." She looked into the living room and saw Hiei on the couch with Botan still lying beside him. "Sorry guys, I forgot we had company."

"Or what? You would have just whispered?" Yusuke responded testily. He walked out into the area between the living room and kitchen. He saw his friend on the couch with Botan. "Way to score, man."

"We have clothes on you idiot."

Yusuke shrugged. Hiei sat up and Botan rolled herself off the couch, straightening her skirt.

"Well that was quite a night," Botan said.

Hiei ignored her and looked at his right arm. "What the hell did we do?"

"Oh yeah," Yusuke said. "I think we stopped by a tattoo parlor on our way here. You said something about getting a dragon?"

Hiei unwrapped the plastic, revealing black ink that trailed all over his arm. From his shoulder to his wrist, the body looked to be made out of black flames. At the beginning of his hand was the head of dragon. Its mouth was open and its eyes were red.

"Oh man, that is badass Hiei."

"Yeah, but my mom's gonna kill me if she sees it."

Atsuko came forward and examined his arm. "That is really cool. But you're right, you're mother will flip." A thought seemed to strike her as she turned to her son. "You didn't get anything, did you Yusuke?"

"If I did, you be something awesome."

"So go check, tough guy."

Yusuke left the room and Atsuko went off to her bedroom to try to get some more sleep.

"That is a cool tattoo Hiei," Botan offered. "I just hope we all didn't decide to get one."

"Hn, like you could handle it."

"Hey, you have no idea what I can take. Come to think of it," Botan pondered. "I better check to make sure I don't have one. Koenma would kill me if I had a dragon tattooed somewhere." She left for the nearest bathroom just as Yusuke yelled. Hiei walked over to Yusuke's open bedroom and saw the boy hunched over on his bed with Keiko examining a mark on his lower back.

Hiei actually broke out laughing when he saw Yusuke's tattoo. In elegant print, the name 'Keiko' was etched in the area just above his ass. The spiky-haired boy had to brace himself against the wall as tears came to his eyes and he began gasping for air. Finally, when he regained some of his breath he gasped out, "Yusuke, you're a tramp!" And he went into another fit of laughter.

"Don't listen to him Yusuke," Keiko comforted. "I think it's sweet."

Yusuke growled and pushed himself off the bed and charged at Hiei. The boys smacked into the wall outside Yusuke's room and began to fight. Hiei was underneath Yusuke but he managed to punch the larger boy in the face because of Hiei's shorter limbs. Yusuke pushed himself up and returned with punches of his own, hitting Hiei in the nose and jaw. Hiei rolled and bucked Yusuke off his back and turned to kick Yusuke in the ribs. Yusuke coughed and puched Hiei in the stomach, knocking the air out of him.

Keiko shouted for the boys to stop but neither paid attention to her. Botan ran out the bathroom and joined Keiko in shouting but it was no use.

The boys made their way into the living room, back into a pile. This time Hiei was on top and landing blows to both Yusuke's face and torso. Yusuke grabbed the back of Hiei's neck and pulled his face close enough for Yusuke to head butt him. Hiei became dazed and growled. He rolled off of Yusuke and kicked him at the side of the head, dazing the larger by as well. Yusuke reached out, grabbed Hiei's ankle and pulled so that Hiei fell on his back against the floor.

Before the fight could go further, Atsuko burst through her. She saw both boys trying to stand and smacked them both across the face. "I can't believe I can't get any sleep with you two here! Get your clothes on, get your girlfriends, and GET OUT!"


	9. Chapters 15 and 16

Chapter 15

"I had a really fun time tonight, Shuichi," Maya commented on their walk to her house. "I'd been wanting to see that movie for a while and it turned out to be even better than I expected."

"I thought you would like it," the red head answered. With every step he took, Shuichi's heart beat picked up. Maya noticed how timid he was around her all throughout the night and she could not blame him, she was nervous as well. When their hands touched in the popcorn bucket, Maya blushed and she noticed Shuichi turn away. Maya had wanted to go out with her tutor for a long time.

They approached her doorstep and Maya turned to her date. Shuichi's face was red again and his hands seemed shaky.

"I really like you, Shuichi," Maya offered to try and comfort the boy. She reached for his hand and squeezed. "I would like to see you again."

Shuichi swallowed. "Is next Saturday fine?"

Maya nodded. "Next Saturday is great."

There a small pause before their eyes met and Shuichi leaned his head forward. Before their lips touched, Maya's front door opened and a tall, balding man stood in the doorway.

"Hi, Dad," Maya said in a slightly soured tone.

Mr. Kitajima stared at Shuichi who backed away from the brunette and stared at his shoes. Maya's father was built as big as they come, perfect for intimidating any possible suitors.

"Who is this?" The man's voice was deep and gravely.

"This is Shuichi Minamino, my date." Maya glared at her father for interrupting the moment she had been waiting for all night. "Shuichi this is my dad, Akira Kitajima."

"Good evening, sir." The boy bowed his head a little.

"Good bye, come inside Maya," Mr. Kitajima ordered.

"In a minute Dad, I want to say goodnight."

"Then say it and come inside."

Maya continued to glare at her father. "Some privacy, please."

Akira shot a quick look at Shuichi and walked back inside. Shuichi's heart felt like it was about to give out.

"Sorry about that," the girl apologized. "Dad's been a little protective since Mom left."

"It's alright, my mother is a bit the same since my father..." he trailed off, not wanting to mention his deceased father.

"He's not as bad as he wants you to think, he just doesn't want me to get hurt." Maya's brown eyes gleamed with admiration for her overprotective guardian. Shuichi's heart skipped a beat and he briefly wondered if it was the effect she had on him or if all the night's stress had finally made it stop working. He did not care as he leaned down and pressed his mouth against Maya's surprised lips.

Chapter 16

"So how did your date last night go? Did you get to second base?" Yusuke asked Shuichi as he lounged on the couch in the Minamino house. Shuichi was sitting on a recliner while Hiei was on the window seat and Kuwabara occupied the second half of the couch.

"Yusuke, I don't believe that is any of your business," the honor student chastised. "A gentleman never kisses and tells."

Yusuke snorted and nudged Kuwabara. "I guess that means he got blocked."

"It was only their first date," Kuwabara reminded while trying to hide a smile but failing.

Hiei came to Shuichi's defense. "Like Keiko ever let you get to second base."

"Yeah man, she did."

"And didn't slap you silly?" the shorter boy challenged.

"Said the guy who has never had a girlfriend."

"Really?" Kuwabara asked. "I've heard Hiei fooled around with one of the teachers before she got fired."

"You mean Ms. Mukuro? Now that I think about it, she did have you stay after class a lot." Yusuke looked to his friend with a raised eyebrow.

Hiei did not look at his friends. "She held me over to tutor me, nothing more."

"So what did she get fired for?" Kuwabara queried.

"Officially, she was terminated for stealing school equipment," Shuichi answered. "But one could say it was because she threatened to unionize the staff during the teacher shortage."

"Man, she was a weird lady," Yusuke commented. "But you know what they say about red heads." Shuichi and Kuwabara both shot him a look. "I mean girls!"

After a brief pause: "Oh yeah! Hiei, Keiko has been bugging me about if there's a chance you and Botan will ever go out?"

Hiei stared at the television, which was turned to a cartoon, and ignored Yusuke.

"Come on Hiei, Keiko won't stop talking about how you guys kissed or something and you should ask her out." Still no response. "Hiei!"

"Why should I?" He was emotionless. "And why should this be Keiko's business?"

"I don't know, some crap about friendship; you know how girls are. And did you two really kiss?"

Hiei said nothing.

"Did you make out? Was there tongue?"

"Will you shut up?!" Everyone in the room jumped when the most quiet member suddenly shouted. Before anyone could respond, Hiei stood up and left the house.

The boy was breathing hard and his eyes bore holes into the sidewalk as he made his way more towards the center of the city. His memory of that night months ago guided him to the house he was looking for. He knew it would be inappropriate to suddenly appear on the mayor's doorstep and demand to see his daughter but Hiei was too angry to care.

When he arrived at the lavish household, Hiei marched up to the door and pounded on the expensive craftsmanship, pointedly ignoring the golden door knock. An old man in a tuxedo came to the door and gave Hiei a look over. His face crumpled in distaste. "May I help you?"

Hiei did not hide his rage. "I need to see Botan," he growled.

The man rolled his eyes. "One moment," and he disappeared back into the manor. He reappeared and ushered Hiei inside. The tattooed teen was led upstairs and down a hall until he was left alone in a parlor. Hiei only had a minute to wait before the blue haired blabber mouth joined him.

Before Botan could say a word, "Why did you tell Keiko about the kiss?!"

"What? I don't know, because she asked," Botan fluttered.

"Well now Yusuke and the guys know and he won't shut up about it!"

"I told Keiko in confidence, I didn't think she would tell anyone." The girl was beginning to feel betrayed. "She asked if I liked you and then I told her what happened that night after school. Hiei, I swear I didn't mean to blab."

"Why would she even ask?!"

"Because she found out we slept together on Yusuke's couch," Botan cried, tears were starting to form.

Hiei did not back down. "That kiss was an accident, just like when we crashed on the couch. It doesn't mean anything."

The tears were pouring down Botan's cheeks. "Hiei..." She sounded like she was choking.

"What?"

Botan hesitated, biting her lower lip to try and gain some composure. "Do you hate me?"

The boy was taken aback by the pain in her words. His rage forgotten, he asked, "Why would I hate you?"

"You've never seemed too fond of me and you got all riled up over a small kiss. Do you not like me?"

Hiei did not answer, he was mulling over what his feelings were but his silence did not give Botan much confidence. Finally, "What does it matter? It's not like anything could come of it."

Botan shook her head. "I like you, Hiei, but you always act like nobody cares about you. I know Yukina and your mother care. And I care," she added meekly.

"Why?" he demanded.

"I'm not sure but I do." The girl stared at the ground while the boy tried to study her. She felt his eyes searching her face and could not help but blush. Botan had a crush on Hiei ever since they first met in class when they were both twelve. Hiei sat in the back and napped while Botan scribbled his name in her notebook, surrounding it with hearts. The little delinquent had grouped her with other students that he thought were privileged and shallow, and thus kept his distance. But now, Hiei saw what exactly he had missed before: the long light blue hair that framed a soft face with ivory skin and peach-tinted cheeks, long dark lashes that fanned over violet orbs, and a small mouth with pink full lips. Their first kiss had been quick, so neither of them really appreciated the moment. Now, Hiei cupped Botan's face in his hands and their lips met. Botan was unprepared but soon gave in, her blush deepening.

They did not break away until Hiei tried to poke his tongue into her mouth and Botan pushed him back. She was not forceful, just a small nudge to his chest, but Hiei understood and backed off. "I'm not ready for that yet," she explained, her heart pounding. Hiei nodded and, without a word, left.

Note: Why do I keep making HieixBotan? It works for this fic, I guess.


	10. Chapters 17 and 18

Chapter 17

Yukina helped her mother set the table for five people: herself, Hina, Hiei, Genkai, and Kazuma. Ever since Hina had left the hospital, Genkai visited to make sure everything was okay and to provide assistance. Kazuma had started visiting every other day whenever work allowed him. His presence annoyed her brother but Hiei would suffer in silence because Kazuma made his sister happy.

Hina's son walked through and saw them setting the table. "Make it only four tonight, I'm going out."

Hina looked up with a surprised face. "You're going out? With who?"

Yukina giggled. "Does this have anything to do with the person you've been talking to on the phone with all week?"

Hiei flicked his twin's nose, causing her to laugh even more. "Has a certain little girl been eavesdropping?"

"Maybe," she said innocently. Her smile became radiant as she remembered hearing her brother's softly spoken words undoubtedly directed towards a possible love interest. Yukina hated how people excluded her brother when he was, in her opinion, the strongest, and even sweetest, person she knew. It made her heart swell at the thought that someone else had finally seen these traits in her brother.

"You don't have a secret girlfriend, do you Hiei?" Hina questioned, picking up the fifth plate.

Hiei shrugged nonchalantly.

Hina cupped her son's cheek with tender fingers. "Be on your best behavior and if she's worth seeing again, bring her here next time." She pecked his cheek and wiped away the lipstick stain she left behind. Hiei was still uncomfortable with all the physical contact but he stood his ground under his mother's affection. While he was living with his father, Hiei had forgotten how loving his mother could be. Even when they were still married, Hina was affectionate but she did not show it nearly as often.

Hina examined his bandaged right arm. "How long did you say it would take for the burns to heal?"

"Two months at least," Hiei lied. He had told his mother and sister that his right arm had been burned during the eventful night in order to avoid suspicion about the tattoo. The second the boy returned home with his new mark, he went into the bathroom and used all the bandages. He said Yusuke had been fooling around with matches and caught Hiei's shirt sleeve on fire. Atsuko took him to the hospital where the doctor informed him that he suffered from second degree burns that would heal over time. Hiei planned to use the two months to either work up enough courage to inform Hina of his tattoo or save up enough money to get it removed. Unfortunately, the former seemed the most likely.

"Hit Yusuke the next time you see him," Hina ordered. "For me. That boy should know better than to drink and play with matches. Now my baby can't use his right arm." Hiei blushed at the pet name. He was very convincing in making it look like moving his right arm was painful.

"I need to get ready," Hiei informed so he could escape his mother's attention.

"Okay," she conceded. "Wear something nice," she called as he made his way to his bedroom.

Kazuma and Genkai arrived a few minutes after Hiei left. "Where's shor- I mean, Hiei- at?" Kazuma asked, stopping himself just before he mentioned his insult/nickname for the spiky haired teen.

"He's on a date," Yukina beamed.

"Wow, I guess Urameshi really got to him."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing. The food sure smells good." And the night went on like all the other nights, just one person short.

Genkai and Hina went into the living room to talk while Yukina and Kazuma washed dishes. Hina usually could not stand the thought of a guest doing any sort of chore in her house, but Kazuma assured and even asserted that it was no big deal and he was more than happy to help.

"We make the perfect team," the orange haired boy commented brightly as he rinsed a plate. "It's like we were meant for each other, don't you agree?"

"Sure, you're very good at rinsing and drying," Yukina said, unaware of the hint Kazuma was giving. "Hiei helps sometimes but he tries to rush it or he breaks a plate."

"He's never been patient, has he?"

"No, not really." There was a pause. "I'm happy he found someone, I just wish I could be as lucky."

Kazuma cast his eyes down at her words. Yukina noticed his sullen expression. "Are you alright, Kazuma?"

The boy forced a smile on his face. "Of course, why wouldn't I be?"

"You don't have a girlfriend, do you?" she asked as she pulled the plug out of the drain.

Kazuma dried the last cup and placed it in the cabinet. He took a deep breath, steeled himself, turned to the small girl and held both of her hands. "Yukina, will you go out with me?"

Yukina stared at the large boy with wide crimson eyes. They were not aware of it, but Genkai and Hina had stopped their conversation to listen in the next room. The girl bit her lip. "I'm sorry Kazuma, but no. I don't think of you like that; you're really sweet and gentle but you're a very good friend and I don't want to risk what we already have."

He let his hands drop to his sides. "You're right, we should just stay friends." His voice was hollow.

"Kazuma?" He had turned and was heading for the front door. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, it's how you feel and I can't force you to think otherwise." He opened the door.

"Will you be joining us tomorrow night?" Yukina followed him to the door, she was starting to regret her answer.

"Probably not. I'll be working pretty late tomorrow."

"What about Friday?"

"I think I'm gonna be busy for the rest of the week."

"Okay, goodnight." Yukina was starting to feel horrible for causing Kazuma's sudden gloom.

"Goodnight." And he was gone.

Chapter 18

Yusuke was taking a smoke break behind the diner he was working at with one of the waitresses.

"Just one more month of this and then it's back to school," he complained.

"Shut up," said the older woman. "At least you have somewhere else to go. I have to stay here. Little tip: don't have kids at fourteen."

"Are kidding? My mom was fourteen when she had me, I ain't making that mistake."

"So where's your dad?"

Yusuke exhaled a long puff of smoke before answering. "Hell if I know. Probably skirt chasing. He could be dead in a ditch for all I care."

They stood in silence for a bit longer before dropping their cigarettes and returning inside. Yusuke was cleaning out a booth when his coworker came up beside and nudged his shoulder.

"Hey, check out the couple at table three," she whispered. "Weirdest pair."

Yusuke looked in the direction she was pointing at with her thumb. What he saw almost made him fall over: a short boy in black with spiky hair sitting across the table from a pretty girl with blue hair. Yusuke had to cover his mouth to keep silent.

"Oh crap," he snickered from between his fingers. "I know those two. I will give you my paycheck if you will do something for me." He whispered into her ear.

"Honey, I would have done that for free. Too late now," she quickly stated as the busboy opened his mouth. She walked over to the occupied booth. "Good evening, my name is Rita and I'll be your waitress. Would you like some crayons while you wait, little man?"

The look Hiei gave her was priceless to Yusuke, the boy could not help but collapsed into the booth he was cleaning and start cracking up into his arms. He knew he was caught when he felt a pair of eyes bear onto him but he did not care as he started snorting and had to clutch his sides.

Yusuke's shift ended before Hiei's date did, so Yusuke waited outside while the couple finished eating. The sight was still hard to handle, Hiei would say something and Botan would smile or even laugh a little. It was almost too hard to deal with and Yusuke felt some vomit rise up in his throat when his friend grabbed the girl's hand which was laying on the table. Finally, the pair left the diner and Hiei caught Yusuke's glance. The shorter boy walked up to his partner in crime and punched him square in the jaw while Botan covered her mouth, her eyes wide.

"That was for that stupid joke, and this..." Hiei raised his fist again to hit the opposite side of Yusuke's face, "is from my mom." And landed another hit.

Yusuke spat out some blood. "I'll admit the I deserved that first throw, but what does your mom have to do with this?"

"Never mind," and he turned away with Botan catching up to him.

Yusuke put his hands on his hips and chuckled as he thought over the unbelievable pair.


	11. Chapters 19 and 20

Chapter 19

"So can we hang out at your place, or what?" the teen with the greased hair asked as he mashed the buttons of an arcade game. Kuwabara, who was battling him on the other side of the console, was skillfully timing his attacks.

"I'm not sure my sister would like it if I brought a friend over without calling first."

"Then call her, you have a cell phone, don't you?"

"Yeah but..." Kuwabara was nervous at the thought of possibly setting his sister off. He tried to change the subject. "So how much longer is Shuichi gonna be on vacation?"

Yusuke just barely won the first round and was getting ready for round two. "Another week. I told him to bring me back one of those novelty shot glasses from Los Angeles."

"Why are those considered souvenirs?"

"Beats me, but my mom's birthday is coming up and I know she'll use it."

"Where's Hiei been?"

"His mom had to visit his grandmother, so he and Yukina tagged along. Funny since he always told me he hated visiting his mom's hometown."

"Just trying to be a good son," Kuwabara offered as he won the second round.

"Or trying to see what he can steal before his cousins get there. His grandma has been sick and he's just waiting for her to kick the bucket."

"He wouldn't really want that, would he?"

"He says his mom's family treats him like shit, so I wouldn't put it past him." Yusuke snagged the last win.

"No way! That was a fluke!" Kuwabara raged.

"What are you bitching about? I just won!"

"All you do is button mash! That's no way to win!"

"Well the game disagrees, so get over it."

"I want a rematch!"

"Too bad, I'm out of quarters."

"Then we'll settle this at my house, I have a game like this."

Yusuke grinned. "Alright, lead the way."

Kuwabara completely forgot about his original concern as he walked down the street with Yusuke following close behind. When they entered the house, Yusuke examined how tidy and homey it seemed. There were pictures of two children on the mantle that Yusuke recognized as Kuwabara and the girl had to have been his older sister. A portrait of a bride and groom hung on the wall, bearing physical resemblances to both children except the woman had orange hair and the man had light brown.

"Your parents I'm assuming?"

"Yeah, Mom passed away a few years ago and Dad has been struggling to get a job for a while. This is technically Shizuru's house." A very round brown cat starting rubbing against Kuwabara's legs. "Hey Eicichi," he crooned as he picked it up. It purred loudly as he scratched beneath its chin.

"Where's your bathroom?" The other boy wanted to avoid seeing this large guy coddle a cat.

Kuwabara pointed down a hallway. "First door on the left."

Yusuke dashed down the hall and did not bother to knock on the closed door. He opened it and got a full surprise when he saw a naked woman stepping out of the shower. Before he could react, a fist connected with his face, sending him out the door and crashing against the wall.

"Kazuma, what the hell!" Shizuru shouted as she came out wearing a bathrobe. "I told you to call before you bring your retarded friends over!"

Kuwabara only opened his mouth when she slammed a fist against the side of his head. Eicichi jumped out of his arms and bolted underneath the couch as his sister continued to assault him and Yusuke with punches, kicks, and language that was scandalous enough to make a sailor blush. When it was all over, her bedroom door slammed shut and the boys were covered in bruises.

"You sure you still want a rematch?" Yusuke asked.

Kuwabara shook his head. "We could fight a million rounds but no one stands a chance against Shizuru."

Chapter 20

The Jaganshis returned after Hina's mother made her recovery, Hiei managed to only get away with a locket that contained a portrait of Hina as a little girl. The boy wanted to more but the second he saw this trinket, which had carelessly been stuffed away in a drawer, he felt it belonged to him since no one else seemed to claim it or even noticed it was missing. Hina was the third of five daughters, which meant she did get overlooked when she was growing up. But her marriage had caused a severing of many family ties and strained her relationship with her mother. The whole time they were visiting, Hina's sisters maintained a condescending attitude towards her and even her mother only gave her attention when Hina talked directly to her. Hiei's cousins were spoiled rotten and threw insults at him. Yukina kept to herself and no one bothered her.

Yukina was asleep in the backseat while Hina drove and Hiei sat in the front. After an hour of silence, Hina asked, "So what did you take?"

Hiei kept a straight face but internally jumped at her question.

"I know you took something, Hiei. Show me." She did not sound angry but she did not look even remotely happy.

Hiei dug into his pocket and showed her the trinket. Hina looked at it from the corner of her eye. "What's in it?"

"A picture," he responded obscurely.

"Picture of what?" Her grip tightened on the steering wheel.

"You when you were little."

Hina was quiet for a moment. "Why did you take it?"

Hiei did not answer, he was not entirely sure why he had taken it either. He decided to buy time to think, "Why was it thrown into a drawer?"

There was another pause and Hina briefly checked in the mirror to see if Yukina was still asleep. "Because," she began. "Everyone hates us, but mostly me."

"Is it because of him?" Hiei could not say 'Dad'.

"Not entirely. There was wedge between me and your grandmother long before I met your father. To make it short, my dad left my mom and I was only one who didn't blame him."

"Why?"

"Because your grandmother has always been a manipulative woman and I'm the only one who still talks to my dad. Or did before he died."

Hiei opened the locket and stared at his mother's picture. The resemblance to Yukina was incredible, especially when Hina smiled. The picture was no different: the small round face, the wide crimson eyes that looked dark gray in the black and white, the long teal hair that looked ruffled no matter what both of them tried to do with it. The one difference Hiei saw was the sadness he saw in the eyes of the portrait. That same sadness he saw whenever he looked at his mother during their visit.

"When was this picture taken?"

Hina kept her eyes on the road. "Some time before Dad left but he told me he was going away. I think I knew before anyone else did." They passed in silence again. "I wish you could have had a father that was half the man your grandfather was, maybe we wouldn't have gone through all that drama. It sucks knowing I'm all you have."

Hiei scowled. "You're all we need. To hell with everyone." He closed the locket and put it back in his pocket.

Hina gave him a small smile before he leaned back in the seat and went to sleep.


	12. Chapters 21-23

Chapter 21

"That was a really good dinner, Yusuke. Thank you," Keiko complimented as she leaned into her boyfriend. They were walking away from an expensive restaurant where they ate a birthday dinner for Keiko. "Makes my birthday present for you seem cheap now."

"Hey, I loved that shirt you got me," he reassured. "Besides, that wasn't your real present."

"What?" Keiko asked nervously. The thought that Yusuke spent even more money on her made her stomach flip. Then she had a thought, "Yusuke, you better not be talking about a motel or something."

"Give me some credit, I'm not that much of a creep."

"Then where are we going?"

"Trust me, you're gonna like your gift." They continued down a few blocks before they approached a small house. Keiko was confused but Yusuke went up to the door and knocked. After a minute, a woman answered. "Hey Rita," Yusuke greeted.

"Yusuke," she returned and saw Keiko peek over his shoulder. "So this is the birthday girl?"

"Yup," Yusuke put his arm behind the brunette. "Keiko, this is Rita. We work together at the diner."

"Keiko, it's nice to meet you." Rita's smile was genuine. Keiko thought she looked to be in her mid to late twenties. Rita's dark blonde hair was in a bun, so the age determination was a little harder.

"Nice to meet you too," the girl said a bit uncertainly.

"Well come on in, you two," Rita directed, moving away from the door. "We had to set up in the backyard, the noise was too much for me."

Keiko raised an eyebrow at Yusuke but he guided her through the house and into the yard. The second they opened the back door, a horde of puppies gathered around them. Rita had to watch her footing as she worked her way to the middle of the yard. She put her two pinkies into her mouth as she whistled and caught the attention of the litter.

"Yusuke," Keiko began. "You're getting me a dog?"

He shrugged. "I already checked with your parents and they said you've always wanted one."

"They're about two months old, so it's okay to take one home," Rita informed. "Don't ask me what kind they are, their mom is a border collie but their dad is either one of the neighbors' dogs or a stray. Molly gets around."

"How much are they?" Keiko asked.

"They're not really worth anything since I can't determine their full breeding but your boyfriend wouldn't accept a free dog, so any one you want is gonna be about fifty."

"Sounds fair," Yusuke commented.

"I doubt anyone else I try to sell them to will agree. Dog owners are pretty demanding."

"Go on and pick one out, Keiko." Yusuke entered the yard and was immediately assaulted by the litter. He lost his footing and ended up on his back as little pink tongues went over his face and body. "Help!" he called but Rita and Keiko were too busy laughing. "Ow! One these bastards just bit me!"

"They're teething, you baby," Rita said.

"Really Yusuke, they're just playing." Keiko grabbed his hand and pulled him up. She looked over the litter and only one caught her eye: it was shad of gray that almost looked blue with a patch of black at the top of its head. Its eyes were brown and it had the longest ears in the entire group. Its snout was long and its tail had a black tip. Keiko knelt down. "Come here," she crooned. It was shy at first but walked forward until it was close enough for her to pick up. "This one seems cute."

"I think that's the one that bit me."

"Yeah, that one ain't too bright; it keeps smacking into the fence every time it spots the neighbor's cat. But it explores a lot more than the rest of them. You sure that's the one you want?"

Keiko nodded and laughed as it licked her cheek.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Yusuke asked as he lifted its hind leg. "Boy, definitely. What are you gonna name him?"

"Hm," Keiko mused. "What about Puu?"

"Puu? That's a weird name. But whatever, it ain't my dog." Yusuke handed Rita the money. They said their goodbyes and left. Keiko held Puu in her arms while Yusuke had his arm around her shoulder.

Chapter 22

"What the hell!" Hina shouted at her son. A pile of bandages lay on the floor and Hiei was shirtless, his right arm exposed. The mother's eyes traced over the ink with building rage. "When the hell did this happen?!"

Hiei was sitting on his bed and looking at the floor. Hina walked over and jerked his face up by his chin so he had to meet her gaze. The boy had removed the bandages so he could take a shower when his mom walked in with clean clothes. The basket was dropped at the door and clothes were scattered.

"Hiei," she said firmly. "Why did you get a tattoo?"

Her son tried to look away but she was still holding his chin. "I didn't mean to," he answered in a small voice.

Hina snorted. "What, did someone hold you down and turn the machine on? Why?"

"Because I was drunk," he admitted, waiting for her to smack him like their dad or Atsuko. But the hit never came, Hina looked down at her son with disappointment clearly etched on her face.

Hina hesitated before she asked, "Have you been drunk before?"

Hiei thought about lying but his silence gave Hina her answer. Hiei hated the look she had, she wore her heart on her sleeve and in this case he saw how disappointed and ashamed she felt. "I thought you were more responsible than this, Hiei, but evidently I was wrong. Do you have any idea what sort of damage you've done? This," she indicated his arm, "is a decision that will effect you the rest of your life; you're not going to be a punk teenager forever. Why would you do this? And don't say it was because you were drunk, we both know you made the conscious decision to pick up the bottle. So why?"

Hiei looked away, too ashamed to meet his mother's eyes. "I don't know," he whispered.

Hina exhaled. "Well you'll have plenty of time to figure it out; you're grounded for three months."

"What?!"

"You heard me: three months. No friends, no video games, no TV, nothing. You will stay here for the rest of the summer and go to school when it starts back."

"Three months is a bit excessive!"

"You're lucky I didn't kick you out because not only did you permanently scar yourself, you lied to me. I let the locket thing slide because I thought it was sweet and the only bad thing you would do while living with me. But now I know it wasn't the first. You're turning out to be like your father."

Hiei flared at that. He stood up and faced Hina with fiery eyes. "I'm nothing like him," he snarled. Before Hina could respond, he grabbed his shirt and jacket and bolted out the door. Hina went to the open front door and yelled for Hiei to return but she could not see where he went.

Chapter 23

Shiori Minamino had left for the night to go on a date, leaving Shuichi alone in the house when the phone rang.

"Hello," he answered.

He was surprised to hear Hina's voice on the other end. "Shuichi, is Hiei with you?"

"No, I haven't seen Hiei since my mother and I returned. Is something wrong?"

Hina took a shaky breath. "We had a fight and he ran off. I don't know where he could have gone."

"Have you tried calling Yusuke?"

"I did but he suggested I call you. I'm getting worried, he's been gone for three hours."

Shuichi did not say anything, his mind was going over where his friend could have possibly gone. "I'll try making some calls but I wouldn't worry, Mrs. Jaganshi. Hiei should be fine." He tried to ignore the fact that his own stomach was doing backflips.


	13. Chapters 24-26

Chapter 24

"Where do you think you're going?" Atsuko asked her son as he made his way to the door.

"I'm going on a manhunt, call work for me and tell them I'm sick," Yusuke instructed as he slipped his arms into his jacket and left the apartment.

He saw Yukina on the opposite side of the street, dashing in the wrong direction. "Yukina!" he shouted, waving his arms to get her attention. "We're trying to find your brother! Where are you going?"

"I just remembered something important!" she shouted back without stopping. "I'll meet you guys after I check on it!"

Yusuke thought about following her but decided that meeting Shuichi and the others was more pressing.

Chapter 25

Yukina was hoping she was wrong. Hina told her about the argument she and Hiei got into and Yukina had a flash of where he might go. Her heart was pounding with each footfall and she prayed her brother was not where she thought.

She approached the recently condemned apartment complex and went up the steps to the second floor. One door was open. It was her father's. The smell of gasoline met her as she entered the front room. "Hiei!" she called but no one answered.

The girl was unfamiliar with the apartment because she only visited once but the stench guided her to a bedroom where she saw her brother standing in the dark with a canister. He ignored her and continued throughout the room until he got to the doorway. Yukina realized the entire apartment had splashes of gasoline everywhere but this room was the strongest. Hiei pushed her into the front room and pulled out his lighter.

"No!" His sister grabbed his wrist. "Please!"

"This place needs to burn," he quietly responded.

"You can't erase it all! You can't erase all that he has done!" Tears came to her eyes.

"Don't you remember?! All the pain and torture he put us through! All the times he made Mom cry!"

"We have to live with it! Starting a fire won't fix anything! Yes, he hurt us, all of us. But we grow stronger from it because we didn't let it destroy us. Please, no more! I can't take it!" She buried her face into his chest and started sobbing. "I don't want to lose you!"

Hiei felt her tremble against him and the feeling of shame came flooding back. He looked at the red eyes of his dragon that loomed just above his sleeve. He figured out why he had that tattoo: because it represented power that he had wished he had during all those tough times, it came to his mind when the judge sentenced his father and he felt like a weight had been taken off of his shoulders. He always wanted to have a dragon tattoo but had held off until then because otherwise it would have been a sign of insecurity and weakness. Now it represented strength and the responsibility he now held to protect the ones he loved, not just Yukina and his mother.

"Let's go home," he suggested. Yukina nodded her head, her face still pressed against him.

Chapter 26

School started again and, like always, Yusuke and Hiei were on the roof smoking.

"Kuwabara has been avoiding Yukina," Yusuke commented.

"He finally grew some sense," Hiei said, exhaling a puff of smoke.

"Shuichi said Yukina turned him down."

Hiei smiled smugly. "I should hope so."

"Yeah, but Kuwabara is hard to be around now. Always moping and hardly doing anything. No offense but Yukina seems a bit heartless."

"Why? Just because she doesn't want to date an idiot?"

"Calm down, I meant because she hardly seems bothered by his mood."

Hiei tapped the cigarette to remove the ash build up. "Kuwabara needs to grow a pair and move on. My sister isn't interested."

"Of course you two would be up here," Keiko broke in. She and Botan were standing by the door. "We have a new teacher this year, so come on."

The boys stomped out their addiction and followed the girls down the stairs. Botan threw Hiei a glance over her shoulder, he winked at her causing her to turn and blush. When the four teens entered the room, their principal was standing next to a woman.

"So, Mr. Urameshi and Mr. Jaganshi are finally here to start the new school year with a tardy. Shocking." The principal waited for them to be seated before starting the introduction. "Class, your new teacher is really a bit of an old face but she has a clean slate: Ms. Mukuro." He indicated the red haired woman next to him. Hiei shifted in his seat next to Botan but otherwise remained emotionless. The principal left the classroom, effectively signaling the start of the class.

"Open your textbooks and start on the first chapter," Mukuro ordered. The rest of class went on uneventfully. When the bell rang, everyone got up to leave. "Hiei," Mukuro said. "I want you to stay after a little longer."

Botan gave her boyfriend a curious look before walking out with Keiko and Yusuke.

"I heard about your situation," Mukuro began. "How are you dealing with it?"

Hiei leveled a stare at her. "The same as before, nothing has changed."

"Your dad is finally out of the picture, that has to mean something."

"Are you seriously going to throw obvious facts at me?"

"I know what it's like to grow up in a shitty living situation, Hiei. I ran away from home when I was eight years old."

"Yeah, I know. And your dad used to touch you while your mom killed herself. You've told me all of this."

"Then you already know that if you need to talk to somebody, then you can always come to me." The look in her blue eyes was empathetic.

Hiei walked towards the door. "I don't need you."

"We both know you cried last time we talked, get over it."

Hiei glared at her. "Get over me, how about that? We both know you think of me as like your son or something. I don't need another mom."

Mukuro said nothing as he exited the room. She touched her stomach and remembered the one she lost.

Note: Okay, I cheated a little on 25 by taking some dialogue from the show.


	14. Chapters 27 and 28

Chapter 27

Yusuke was wrong when he assumed Yukina did not care about Kazuma. Actually, she cared quite a bit. When he walked off that night weeks before, she felt hollow inside. She had not noticed how close they had gotten just from the small visits, and looking back at all the things he said that she considered silly, she wanted to smack herself for not noticing before. Yukina had grown so comfortable around Kazuma and she had unintentionally let her guard down.

The small girl never thought about what kind of man she wanted to be with because she had faith in true love. She believed that she would know who she wanted to be with by just first encounters.

Yukina walked down the hall with papers that needed to be given to the teachers. Several boys stopped to look at her petite form before she rounded the next corner, oblivious of the stares. Her mind was going over those signs she had missed when she crashed into someone and ended up dropping her papers.

"Ow. I'm sorry, I wasn't looking," she apologized.

"That's okay," a familiar burly voice answered. "I shouldn't have been standing in the hall like an idiot."

"Kazuma?" Yukina looked up as his hand was offered to help her up. Instead of taking his hand, she jumped up and hugged him. "I'm sorry for hurting you, Kazuma. I want us to be together. I've missed you so much."

Kazuma was shocked by this sudden change. After a few moments of them just standing and embracing, Yukina got on her tiptoes and kissed him.

Chapter 28

"Yusuke, hurry up!" Keiko called from across the street. Hiei, Botan, Shuichi, Maya, Yukina, and Kuwabara were all outside the school waiting for their friend. They were going to hang out at the park with some ice cream to relieve the stress of the new school year.

"I'm coming! Keep your skirt on!" Yusuke dashed out of the gate and across the road.

"Yusuke! Watch out!" Keiko screamed as a car sped down the road.

Yusuke turned when he heard squealing tires and just barely jumped out of the way. "Asshole!" he shouted, flipping the driver off. "You're gonna kill someone driving like that!"

"You're such a bonehead, Yusuke," Keiko said still a little shaken. "You look both ways before crossing." They began walking towards their destination.

"Yusuke has always been a dumbass," Hiei commented. "Like he thought he could take me in a fight."

"We fought only twice and both got interrupted."

"Yeah, but I remember you were the only one bleeding both times."

"I can't help it if your skin is tough to break. I'm pretty sure I knocked one of your teeth out the second fight."

"Lucky shot."

"Bullshit."

Shuichi tried changing the subject before another fight broke out. "I remember when I first met you both."

"Yeah, Hiei introduced us and I thought you were a girl. That was awkward."

"Yes, for both of us."

"I remember when Botan first moved here," Keiko chimed in. "You were so confused by the signs, you ended up wandering all over the school just to find the gym."

"Yes, and you only offered to help after we met three times in the hall that same day," Botan scolded.

"I didn't know where you were going. And your accent was really hard to understand."

"Have you never watched Dr. Who or Harry Potter?"

"No," Keiko giggled.

They all went to one of the gazebos. Keiko seemed distant as everyone else poked fun at each other.

"What's wrong, Keiko?" Yukina asked.

Keiko smiled at her friend. "Nothing, I was just thinking."

"About what?" Botan asked.

"Have you guys ever felt so happy in one moment that you start to feel sad because you don't want it to end?"

"No," Yusuke blurted.

"I know how you feel," Maya responded. "I felt the same way the last time I saw my mom. We went to the beach and built a sand castle and collected seashells."

Keiko looked over her group of friends. "Will we always be this close? Even when we go to high school and college and some of us move away?"

"Only if we truly want to stay friends," Shuichi answered. "But we're such a close knit group, I can't imagine it all ending after this."

"Because it won't end," Kuwabara firmly stated. "You guys are the best friends I've ever had, well except for Hiei."

"Bite me," said the loner.

The sun was going down and the group started dividing to go their separate ways. Yusuke and Keiko walked hand-in-hand down the sidewalk.

"Yusuke," Keiko whispered. "Will we always be together?"

"I can't promise something like that, Keiko," her boyfriend answered. "But I can't see why we wouldn't be. All I can say is that we're together now. We'll always remember this and that we love each other."

Keiko froze. "What did you say?"

Yusuke hesitated. "I love you, Keiko."

Yusuke yelped as his girlfriend jumped and embraced him. "I love you too!" she exclaimed. She felt like she was in a dream and did not want to wake up.


End file.
